Insomnia

Cure For Sleeplessness

Sleeplessness is medically termed as insomnia, which is a condition where in a person is unable to fall asleep. If the condition occurs occasionally, there is nothing much to worry about. But, when it happens every night, you need to find out a suitable cure for sleeplessness. Many people suffer from sleeplessness due to various factors like sleep disorders, medical conditions, anxiety, stress, eating and lifestyle habits.

Causes

On an average a person needs about 8 hours of sleep every night in order to lead a healthy and happy life. A person suffering from this condition usually experiences symptoms like sleep during the day, decreased work productivity, irritability, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorders and headaches.

The condition of insomnia is usually caused due to both physical as well as emotional factors.

People suffering from urinary tract infections may suffer from sleeplessness due to the frequent urge to urinate the entire night.

Depression, anxiety, stress and frequent change in work and environmental conditions are a few emotional factors that are responsible in causing insomnia.

Improper eating habits, intake of caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, poor sleep habits are a few other reasons that cause this condition.

Age is also another major factor that is responsible for causing the condition of sleeplessness.

Role of Stimulants

Did you know that a stimulant such as coffee can stay in your system for as long as 14 hours after having ingested it? How do stimulants affect sleeplessness?

Caffeine

Caffeine can be found from many different products. It is naturally an ingredient in coffee products and tee. Also it is added to many others such as sodas and chocolate. Therefore, caffeine might be difficult to avoid if you are used to consuming these products. Still it is a major problem if you are suffering from sleeplessness. This is because caffeine is a stimulant, which might make it difficult for you to fall asleep

Nicotine

The effects of nicotine are similar to caffeine in the way it makes you more alert. When consumed in high doses it might make it difficult for you to fall asleep. The negative effects of smoking range far beyond sleeplessness; however, curing your sleeping problems is one more reason to stop smoking.

Alcohol

Alcohol is something that might initially make you drowsier. Therefore, it actually helps you fall asleep quicker. But the effects of alcohol change as the night goes on. When you sleep the alcohol in your system metabolizes or in other words clears from your system. When this happens it causes arousal which means that it is unlikely that you can get a long nights rest after having consumed alcohol.

In order to fight sleep disorders you should take into account the amount of stimulants you use. The effects of stimulants on sleeplessness are an important issue because what we consume on a daily basis is a factor in how we sleep. Therefore, in order to get rid of sleeplessness you should avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. If you cannot completely avoid these substances you should at least try to avoid them in the evening before going to bed. This will diminish the effects that the stimulants have on your sleep.

Remedies

When the measures you take are not working, and you are suffering from sleepless nights too often, you need to know these following given cure for sleeplessness.

General Tips

Allow you mind to relax and take away all the tension from your mind before bedtime.

Avoid consumption of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine before bedtime.

Take warm water bath.

Consume a glass full of warm milk.

Perform physical exercises, at least 3 hours before the bedtime.

Cover or remove the clock in your bedroom.

Relaxation Techniques

Apart from these general tips to cure sleeplessness, there are a few relaxation techniques that are very effective and provide an uninterrupted, good sleep. Following are the relaxation techniques mentioned:

Mend your Mind

The best cure for sleeplessness is to mend your mind as insomnia originates from the mind. There are many techniques that help in relaxing your mind and getting rid of a sleeplessness night. Here is the most effective technique which is beneficial in controlling the anxiety and relaxing the body as well. This should be performed in stepwise manner.

Step 1: Select a quiet and cozy room where you can feel comfortable. Take away your mind from all unnecessary wandering thoughts and see to it that you just concentrate on one particular part of the room.

Step 2: After a minute, withdraw from the position and go for a walk. After sometime, again get back to the position and perform the exercise.

Step 3: Try to recollect happy moments, things or a person that makes you happy. Think of it for sometime. Do it at least for five minutes.

Step 4: You can feel a sensation that passes from the neck muscles to the arms and from there to leg muscles. This makes you feel relaxed. Stay in the same position for sometime and get up. Walk for a while and repeat the exercise again.

Mend your Body

There are even relaxation techniques that help in mending your body by relaxing the tense muscles and therefore providing a sound night’s sleep. Perform it in a stepwise manner.

Step 1: Choose a comfortable place where in you can lie down in a perfect still manner. Now begin tensing the muscles of arms and legs for a certain time. Hold the tensed feeling for one minute. Try to release the tension very gradually first from the legs, followed from the arms.

Step 2: Let your body take rest for about 5 minutes and again repeat the procedure 2 times.

Step 3: Concentrate on the sensation that the whole muscles feel and allow them to go lifeless and limp for sometime. Then relax yourselves through slow and steady breaths.

Other Relaxation Techniques

To attain relaxation for a good night sleep, you can perform any of these relaxation techniques. They include:

Listening to music

Shopping

Reading books or newspaper

Massage

Having a warm bath before going to bed

Yoga

Benefits of Yoga

Yoga for sleeplessness helps in developing a balance between the mind and the body, therefore providing relief from stress and tension.

Yoga stimulates the brain, resulting in improved blood circulation and brings back the normal sleeping pattern.

The relaxed breathing and body stretching exercises done during yoga can give an experience of satisfied sleep without intake of any sleeping aids.

Unlike sleeping aids, yoga will not cause any side effects and therefore it is the safest way to combat sleeplessness and is well proven to be effective.

Yoga Poses

There are some yoga poses that provide relaxation to the mind and the body. They are:

Yoga poses while lying on bed – Happy Baby or Ananda Balasana. This pose helps in loosening the lower back and hips and therefore makes you feel relaxed and gives peace.

By doing any of these poses, you will have a satisfying and relaxing sleep. One should not resort to any kind of sleeping aids as they even worsen the sleeplessness condition and make you unhealthy. Through performing yoga for sleeplessness, you can resort back to healthy sleeping habits.

A good night’s sleep can only be attained by relaxation. You might have tried out these techniques to cure sleeplessness. In some cases, they might have worked and in some other cases, they might have not worked. Even then you can try again and if they do not work out in curing sleeplessness, consult your physician. If none of these relaxation techniques work, then medications i.e sleep aids are the last resort. Sleeplessness can lead to conditions like Puffy Eyelids Syndrome.